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ceri-wills
28th September 2011

Society Spotlight: MUSEA

The University’s only Arts society, offering regular life drawing and other events for the arty farty
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TLDR

 

The Manchester University Society for Emerging Artists (MUSEA) aims to cultivate a collective group of like-minded people who are both interested in and have a passion for the practice of contemporary art. It will act as a forum in which Manchester students can develop artistic skills, techniques and ideas through regular workshops and socials. We welcome all abilities and are a very friendly, social society.

Our most regular event is our fortnightly life drawing session where we invite a range of models to pose for us. We try to include variety in our models, from female and pregnant to male and muscular. There will also be in attendance our very own life drawing tutor who can instruct members of all levels on how best to go about their work and we provide all the materials you’ll need to take part.

Don’t be put off if you don’t feel your artistic ability is up to scratch to get involved, we welcome everyone of any skill level and there’s no obligation to share or show your work as it’s purely for your own enjoyment. It’s a really great way to relax and get lost in your work, so I can’t recommend it enough even if you’ve never tried it before, just come along and give it a go. And as much as you think you might be embarrassed when the model drops their robe, you’ll be surprised to find that after the first moment or two it doesn’t seem odd at all! But we definitely don’t encourage giggling at the back.

As well as the life drawing workshops we put on a range of other activities to keep people interested.  In the past we have arranged film nights and gallery trips, as well as speed-drawing events, which are a little like speed dating except you are tasked with drawing your opposite partner in a certain way, be it with your non-writing hand or without looking at the paper.

One of the highlights of the year is our trip abroad, which last year took us to Madrid. It takes place after January exams, and this year we’re looking into visiting Florence in Italy. We take in all the sights and sounds of the city, including galleries and places of interest, plus the opportunity to explore the nightlife. More information will be available a little later in the year.

We involve the society in all sorts of university events, such as always having an installation at Pangaea (the university’s end of exams party), which last year was a fancy dress photo booth fully equipped with inflatable monkeys and coconut bras, as well as taking part in other events such as the Amnesty Sleep Out.

Membership of the society for the year is only £10, which gets you discounted life drawing sessions (£3.50 instead of £5) plus exclusive discounts including 10% off food and drink at Nexus Art Gallery in the Northern Quarter. In previous years we’ve also included a free Trof Card in our membership, which gets you great deals in all of their venues, which we’re in the process of re-instating.

We’ll be holding our first sign up evening at Trof in Fallowfield this Wednesday 28th September so come along and meet the committee and sign up for your year’s membership. Our first life drawing event is taking place next week on Tuesday 11th October in the Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of the Students’ Union and it is absolutely free! So come along and have a taster of what we get up to, we’ll also be providing cakes and wine.

You can find our Facebook group at ‘MUSEA [Manchester University Society for Emerging Artists]’ and our website is http://musea.visualsociety.com, or email [email protected] for more information.

 

 

Ceri Wills

Ceri Wills

Former Societies editor (2011-2012).

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